Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2021 / 17:10 pm
The bishop of Providence says patience and reflection are necessary while bishops study Pope Francis’ motu proprio that restricted traditional liturgies.
Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence told CNA in a phone interview this week that while he had heard rumors of liturgical changes coming from the Vatican, he was surprised when Pope Francis’ letter Traditionis custodes was released on July 16. The document, he says, is “very broad” and leaves “a lot of unanswered questions.”
The document restricted the use of traditional liturgies that preexisted the 1970 liturgical reforms. Most notably, it recognized the “exclusive competence” of bishops to authorize the Latin Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal in their respective dioceses. It further instructed bishops to delegate locations for the Traditional Latin Mass, stipulating that the locations could not be at “parochial churches.”
Tobin said he initially found the motu proprio to be “a challenge and an opportunity.” Now, he thinks that the document was “very broad.”